Kado

Kado, also known as ikebana, is the art of flower arrangement.

Before, plants were used for food, medicine, clothes and timber and later were used for religious practices as it brought blessings to people that it became regarded as a luxury. Hence, the culture of Kado was born among those who were allowed to enjoy this luxury.

Motouji Sono (1210-1282) was the founder of Sono family and a courtier. He and his descendants were part of the Fujiwara family and counselors of the imperial court. They lived in a world of elegance close to the emperor and experiencing manners, traditional events and ceremonies which they transferred the spirits of these elegant matters into the form of flower arrangement.

Around the 19th century, Seizango-ryu, which was also called “Flower of the Sonos,” “Flowers in the Court,” and “Noble School of the Sonos,” came to be widely known as an elegant and refined school where they established one of the most popular flower arrangements, the standing flower arrangement.